Pottsgrove Marching Band has Championship Season

Photos submitted by the Pottsgrove School District

From left: Row 1- Lauren Yeanish, Amiyyah Cousins, Laura Hoffman, Vicki Keefer, Ellen Welty, Alyssa Hill, Ciara Markoski, Jorden Taylor; Row 2- Fox Coniglario, Maggie Slichter, Jakob Marlow, Korbin Dorris, Sam Pettine, Moyo Akoma, Hannah Marsteller, Kydira Garfield, Neil Slichter, Jaydan Dorris, Chris Perry; Row 3- Katheine Perry, Sydney Renner, Alyssa Confino, Christiana Haagen, Jiajun Lin, Owen Dobbs, Evan Croxton, Ethan Derstine, Sophia Steyaert, Carmela Steyaert, Lydia Masimore, Alexi Neiffer, Josiah Thieme; Row 4- Abdel Matias-Rivera, Mason Vetter, Colton DiCriscio, Coriana Neiffer, Garrett McGuinness, Joshus Ross, Matt Bechtel, Zachary Schueck, Kylie Fralich, Jayse Welty. Missing: Macey Cohn, Grace Derstine, Madison Palma, Jeffery Robles

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottsgrove School District.

The Pottsgrove High School Marching Band recently completed their season with an array of awards and recognitions for 2018. 

The Falcon Marching band competes through the Tournament of Bands and Cavalcade of Bands  organizations.

Tournament of Bands is one of the largest competitive band organizations in the country. 

Founded in 1972 by the National Judges Association, Tournament has grown to more than 400 active schools and organizations. 

Pottsgrove Seniors at Cavalcade of Bands Championships From left, Shawn Campopiano, Director, Josiah Thieme, Jayse Welty, Joshua Ross, Neil Slichter, Alexi Neiffer, Maggie Slichter, Fox Coniglario, Garrett McGuinness, Carmela Steyaert, Ciara Markoski, Laura Hoffman.

Tournament of Bands sanctions approximately 100 field band events and nearly 100 indoor events as well as two major championships at the conclusion of each competitive season. On any given Saturday night in the fall, the organization will have from eight to 14 field band competitions providing the opportunity for hundreds of marching bands to participate in its competitive arena.

Cavalcade of Bands is a non-profit organization composed of more than 100 member schools from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. It hosts over 80 events each year for scholastic programs to compete and receive feedback from certified music and marching adjudicators. 

Pottsgrove Marching Band concluded their regular season as Tournament of Bands Region 3 Class 2A Champions, which is similar to the PIAA sports classifications. Pottsgrove is a member of Region 3, which includes all of southeastern Pennsylvania. The number “2” designates the size of the band membership and the letter “A” is their classification.

At the Atlantic Coast Championships, where teams from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia were represented, the Falcon Marching Band finished 11th out of 33 bands. This finish qualified Pottsgrove as an Atlantic Coast Championship finalist for the first time since 2008.

And finally, at last weekend’s Cavalcade of Bands Championship in Allentown, the Falcons finished with a bronze medal in The American A Division. Competition was fierce, as the band ended less than 2 points short of the gold. This is the first time Pottsgrove has medaled since 2012.

In addition to Pottsgrove’s competitive successes, band students received a total of $3500 in scholarships from Tournament of Bands. 

Neil Slichter and Josh Ross each received $250 from our Region, and Josh Ross received a $3,000 scholarship from Tournament at the Atlantic Coast Championships. 

All scholarships will be presented at the High School Band and Orchestra Winter Concert on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Richard Radel Auditorium at PGHS.

The Marching Band is under the direction of Shawn Campopiano.

Jazz Bands 'Superior' and 'Outstanding' in Boyertown

Photo courtesy of Missy Weber

The Pottstown High School Jazz Band performed at the 47th Annual Jazz in B-town Jazz Festival at Boyertown Area Senior High School on Saturday.

Hello faithful readers, and welcome to another season of Pottstown High School Jazz Band coverage in The Digital Notebook -- a little bit later than it should be, and a little bit lamer than it used to be.

But we'll get to that later.

Thanks to the Twitter account of the Middle School's 7-8 Jazz Band, I learned late Sunday that our junior jazzers not only earned a "Superior" ranking at the 47th annual Jazz in B-town jazz festival Saturday at Boyertown Area Senior High School, but also Best Rhythm Section and a solo award for Alto Saxophonist Kishan Patel.

Good going. Unfortunately, the videos posted of the 7-8 Band on the Pottstown "Band Peeps" Facebook page could not be captured for inclusion here.

Photo by Evan Brandt

Jazz band representatives Eddie Butler and Casey Mest
are congratulated on their ranking by Boyertown Band
Director Brian Landgon, a former Pottstown music
teacher and friend to our program.

Later in the evening, the Pottstown High School Jazz Band received a rank of "Outstanding," which, for the uninitiated, is above "Excellent" but below "Superior," in the world of jazz band rankings.

They were up against some stiff competition Saturday, particularly from the Quakertown and North Penn Navy Jazz bands, each of which were ranked superior and captured most of the section and solo awards.

"I hate them, they are so good," one envious Pottstown Jazz Band member was overheard to say of North Penn.

The three pieces played by Pottstown were, "Things Ain't What they Used to Be," "Summer Never Ends," which is a feature piece for senior trombonist Kyle Kratzer (who I have known since I coached him in soccer, many, many, many years ago) and ending with "Hit the Bricks.")

And this is where technology failed me as it did last week in Phoenixville.

Photo courtesy of Missy Weber

Pottstown senior Kyle Kratzer, who intends to
attend Millersville University to become a music
teacher, performs "Summer Never Ends."

In Phoenixville, I tried an experiment.

For those new to our Jazz Band coverage, know that I live-stream videos of the performances on a Twitter-related program called Periscope, for those who may not find the blog or only follow me on Twitter, and might not be able to make it to the performances.

So in Phoenixville, the first festival of the season, I tried live-streaming Pottstown's entire performance, instead of stopping between songs like I usually do.

It broadcast but did not save to my iPhone as it is supposed to, I'm not sure why.

You see the problem with Periscope video is it expires after 24 hours, so I usually upload it from my phone into my YouTube account so the videos can be watched any time after the 24 hours are up.

The visual quality ain't hot, but hey, you go a jazz performance for the sound right?

So that's why I did not post about the Phoenixville performance, where the band received a "Excellent" rating. That and the fact that Pottstown was on about 5:30 p.m. and the event did not end until 10 or later. A guy's gotta sleep you know.

I often try to record or at least broadcast some of the other area schools The Mercury covers because I'm nice like that.

Photo Courtesy  of Missy Weber

The rhythm section of the Pottstown High School Jazz Band.

So when it came time for Boyertown, I resumed my old ways and broadcast three different songs individually but the last one, "Hit the Bricks" was not saved on my phone for reasons I won't pretend to understand.


So I did some Internet searching and found a program called "webrecorder" which allowed me to preserve the Periscope video of "Hit the Bricks." Like the other YouTube videos, it is embedded in the Storify of my Tweets down below, but I warn you the sound quality is poor.

Photo courtesy of Missy Weber
Some of Pottstown's brass and sax players at work in Boyertown.

I also recorded all three performances by Boyertown, even though, as the hosts, they were not graded as part of the competition.

Also because director Brian Langdon, who cut his musical educator teeth as a Pottstown music teacher, always has so much fun and elicits great performances from his students.

It may also have something to do with a great feeder program, like the one Langdon initiated for Pottstown. The Boyertown Elementary Jazz Band played between some of the high School performances and they were pretty darn good for little kids!

Photo by Evan Brandt

The Boyertown Elementary Jazz Band played a few tunes between high school performances.

Of course, because technology likes to taunt me, all three of Boyertown's performances saved to the iPhone and are posted the usual way below.

Photo courtesy of Missy Weber

She was even kind enough to shoot a picture of my son,
senior Dylan Brandt, during one of his solos. Thanks!

And, as an extra treat, I also recorded (and posted below) one of the three pieces played by Pottstown's own Sunnybrook Dance Band, of which Langdon is a member, and which has closed out ever Boyertown jazz festival performance that I've ever attended.

As an additional note, perhaps you've noticed that some of the photos here were taken by Missy Weber, whose son Julian has gamely moved from the trombone to the keyboard and whose daughter Emily is the bass player for the band.

She posted it on Pottstown's "Band Peeps" Facebook page and graciously allowed me to grab them for this post.

I urge others who take photo or video to contact me and make it available to help promote and celebrate the jazz band. The email that is attached to this blog is evanbrandt01@gmail.com

As you might imagine, it's hard to take photos and shoot video at the same time, as things move along at a pretty good clip at these jazz events. So if you have photos or video that you think are good, I would be happy to use them.

Chances are if you've shot full video, it's better than mine and I would just as soon preserve yours as mine. I just like to get them as quickly as possible so the coverage can be immediate.

And, you'll get the same pay I do ... that would be the satisfaction of throwing a spotlight on our school's musicians in something remotely reminiscent of the way we so breathlessly cover high school sports.

So without further ado, here are the Tweets and video below from Jazz in B-town.

Another 'Outstanding' Jazz Performance

Photo by Evan Brandt

The four soloists featured on "Stolen Moments" are,
from left, Sherif Mohamaed, John Johnson,
Justin Beasley-Turner and Marley Bryan.

The Pottstown High School Jazz Band was the only local band out of 11 to perform Saturday at the 25th Annual Jazz Festival at West Chester University's School of Music.

To mark the occasion, the band unveiled a new number, "Stolen Moments," which features four soloists.

A source inside the band informed the Digital Notebook team that this new number was performed after only two rehearsals.

Once you listen to it I think you'll agree that's pretty damn good for only their third attempt at it.

Here is the full video of "Stolen Moments:"



The show proceeded then as previous ones have with "Midnight Voyage:"



This was followed with their big closer, "R U Chicken?"






The band earned a rating of "Outstanding" from the three judges, Dave Kenney,
Neil Wetzel and Tom Wolfe.

Further, tenor saxophonist Marley Bryan won another award for his solo work.

He also received a scholarship to a summer program at West Chester University.

This year's jazz band season has been curtailed by the weather and two performances, one at Pottsgrove High School and another, scheduled for Friday at West Chester High School, were both cancelled due to snow.

The Subjective Tense

Obviously, there are a lot of differences between musical and athletic competition.

But the primary difference is one of scoring.

In athletics, there is no question who has scored the most goals, runs, baskets, touchdowns, you name it.

But scoring in musical competition is by its nature subjective. Judges, experts all, decide who "sounded better," a subjective decision if ever there was one.

Photos by Evan Brandt
The Pottstown High School Jazz Band prepares to perform Friday.

Certainly, they have done what they can to create a structure within which the scoring occurs.

So, as the announcer explained Friday night at the 26th Annual Cavalcade of Bands Jazz Band Championships at Souderton Area High School, the judges are required to score each band on such variables as tone and timing, phrasing and syncopation.

But in the end, it's still inherently subjective. I like blueberries more than raspberries and if I'm judging a pie contest, I don't care how good the crust is on the raspberry pie, I'm going to lean blueberry.

Whatever subjectivity the judges bring to any particular competition, a parent and a member of a school community is going to be more than subjective. They (I) will be positively biased. That's why they aren't the judges.

That said, there are those in the Pottstown Jazz Band community who nevertheless found themselves bewildered by the "Outstanding" rating given to the Pottstown players Friday night.

Understand, only a "Superior" rating is above "Outstanding," so it is nothing to sneeze at. But it was nevertheless difficult to understand given the context of the performances observed.

The Cavalcade of Bands has been invited to send
a marching band to the next Rose Bowl Parade.
This is the uniform, which was on display Friday night.

Not having seen any of the other bands that played before Cheltenham, I have no comment or complaint about their ratings.

Nor do I dispute that both Cheltenham and Perkiomen Valley deserved the "Superior" rating they received. They were both top notch.

But so was Pottstown.

I know I cannot claim complete objectivity, nor do I make any claim to it. But as a journalist I do have some experience with practicing objectivity.

I am not shy about acknowledging when Pottstown performs poorly or gets it wrong and from my vantage point, Pottstown's performance was crisp and tight and as good as I've ever heard them play, and I have heard every one of their performances this year.

But I can argue until I'm blue in the face. So I say don't take my word for it. Make up your own mind.

By chance both Souderton, which also received an "Outstanding" rating, and Pottstown played the same piece of music -- "Two Seconds to Midnight" -- Friday night, so an apples-to-apples comparison is possible.

Here is Souderton's performance:



And here is Pottstown's:



Did those two performances seem to be worthy of an equal rating to you?

If so, then you've probably stopped reading by now and have already chalked this post up to sour grapes. That is your prerogative.

This is the hat for Cavalcade's Rose Bowl Band

If they did not seem equal, even if you thought Souderton's to be the better performance, it does leave one wondering how they could both receive the same rating does it not?

Perhaps the answer is subjective.

Anyway, enough about that.

The highlight of last night's competition was the All-Star Jazz Band Souderton Jazz Band Director Adam Tucker put together to play three songs while the judges compiled their scores.

I'm posting their three performances here as something that has not already been posted on this blog multiple times.

As usual, I have posted video recordings of all three Pottstown performances, as well as all three performances by Perkiomen Valley, which was the only other local band competing and played very well.

Additionally, I have added the three All-Star performances and Souderton's as well to a playlist on my YouTube channel, which I have posted below.




Pottstown trombonist Sherif Mohamed as well as saxophonists Tamer Mohamed and Marley Bryan were among those chosen for the All-Star Band.

Since all the names of all the performers were not listed in the program, I can't list them here. But I was savvy enough to record Tucker's recitation of all the names prior to the first number, "Vine Street Rumble."




The second number the played will be familiar to Pottstown Jazz Band veterans, "The Running of the Bulls," which was part of Pottstown's repertoire last year.



Sadly, although my battery lasted until the end of the performance, my recording capacity did not and the last 40 seconds or so of the final number, "Birdland" was cut off. My apologies to the band members and lovers of jazz for poor camera storage management.



Friday night's competition at Souderton, which looks more like a wing of the Smithsonian than a public high school built, was in the Maynard Ferguson Division

The same night, at New Hope-Solebury High School, the Glenn Miller Division held their championships. It did not include any local bands.

Saturday night, the Woody Herman Division will be held at New Hope-Solebury High School, with Methacton being the only local band to compete.

At Souderton, the Duke Ellington Division will compete, which is where you will find the Boyertown Area High School's Big Band, led by Brian Langdon. Good luck to them.

Here are the scores for Friday's Maynard Ferguson competition:

Receiving "Superior" ratings were jazz bands from the following high schools: Bensalem, Radnor, Cheltenham, North Penn Columbia Jazz Band and Perkiomen Valley.

Receiving a "Outstanding" were Penn Wood, Archbishop Ryan, Souderton Lab, Pottstown and Souderton.

• The Best Rhythm Section Award went to Cheltenham. 
• The Best Saxophone Section Award went to Cheltenham; 
• The Best Trumpet Section Award went to Radnor; 
• The Best Trombone Section Award went to North Penn Columbia;
• Best Sight Reading Award went to Radnor.

Here are the soloist awards:

• Best Soloist - Ethan Lee Radnor
• Best Soloist - Noah Becker Cheltenham
• Best Soloist - Tajh Williams Penn Wood
• Best Soloist - Neil Williamson Bensalem
• Best Soloist - Marley Bryan Pottstown
• Hon. Mention - Alex Dubuck Arch. Ryan
• Hon. Mention - Dave Perlman Bensalem

The Overall Champion was Cheltenham who, in my subjective opinion, deserved it. I would say they were "excellent," but that is a lower rating

The judges for the evening were Jim Capolupo, Matt Gallagher and Frank Kosmaceski.

Marching to Their Own Drum Beat

Pottsgrove School District's student musicians are in the news this weekend.

Today, starting at 1 p.m., Pottsgrove Middle School will play host to the Cavalcade of Bands Association Indoor Percussion Championships.

Here is the schedule from the Cavalcade site:

And on Monday, visitors can get a short preview concert of the performance the Pottsgrove High School Choir will be giving during their tour of Europe, which occurs from April 8 through April 17.

On the tour, the choir will be performing in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and in Hampton Court in London.

The preview concert will begin in the high school lobby at 7 p.m.